Anyone that’s connected their mobile device to a smart speaker knows that there is a big difference in sound quality between the phone and the speaker system.
Speakers in general are designed to give a rich, full-bodied sound that provides a great listening experience. Smart speakers offer the same benefits, just with 21st century capabilities, like voice command and connections to streaming services.
Today’s smart speakers can serve up a workout playlist on command, control smart gadgets in your home, and give you a satisfying sound-quality at the same time.
They’re also one of the most popular smart device categories. In 2021, the smart speaker market is expected to grow by 21%.
For music and entertainment lovers alike, one of the most popular smart speakers due to the high-quality sound is Sonos One. This brand is often used as a key component in a smart home entertainment setup.
Another smart speaker that consumers use for better sound quality than a standard voice assistant can give is Google Home Max.
We’ll take a look at both and see how they stack up and which one is the better overall value.
Smart Speaker Matchup: Sonos One vs Google Home Max
We’ll take a look at several key features and compare the features and reviews of each device.
Sound Quality
One of the key things that people are looking for in a smart speaker is a rich and robust sound quality.
Sonos One:
Sonos One continually gets praise in reviews across the web for the sound quality. Not only can it fill the room with sound, even at lower volumes, it’s also very consistent, without any drops.
Sonos One has two Class-D digital amplifiers and one mid-woofer that offers rich bass and quality mid-range vocal frequencies. It’s also got one tweeter that creates a crisp high-frequency response.
Google Home Max:
Google Home Max uses Smart Sound to automatically adjust the equalizer settings to match room acoustics. The speaker uses two 4.5-inch high-excursion, dual voice-coil woofers to offer clear sound quality and has two custom tweeters.
Google’s speaker does have an additional tweeter, however, we ran across some online consumer reviews that noted the speaker can drop the connection after about 30 minutes.
App/Device Integrations
It’s important that the high-quality smart speaker you choose can work with the devices that you have. Here are the app/device integration options for each speaker.
Sonos One:
You can use Sonos One with both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. Alexa continues to be the more advanced of the two systems, though Google is trying to catch up.
With Sonos One, you also have access to thousands of radio stations, including exclusive programming through Sonos Radio, which you can use through the Sonos App.
The Sonos app allows you to control all your music, radio, podcast, and audiobook services in one place. These include popular services like Audible, Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud, and more.
Google Home Max:
Google Home Max works with Google Assistant, but not with Alexa, so you’re a little more limited with this speaker if you use any Amazon Alexa smart devices, like Echo.
You can connect to multiple services and have the ability to play over 35 million songs. It connects to many popular music services, such as Spotify, YouTube Music, Pandora, and more.
Ease of Use
Ease of use is another important feature. It’s no fun to have to struggle with setup or when using a device’s control app.
Sonos One:
Just about every review we saw online for Sonos One praised this smart speaker’s ease of set up and ease of use. The Sonos app is comprehensive and easy to use, giving the user a smooth, convenient experience.
Google Home Max:
The Google Home app is not quite as easy to use as the Sonos app. However, it does integrate all your Google Home devices together in the app. This is very convenient if you have several Google smart home devices.
Pricing
Sonos One vs Google Home Max:
Although Google has brought down the price of Google Home Max a bit to make it more competitive, it’s still about 1.5x the price of the Sonos One smart speaker.
The Verdict
When comparing sound quality, ease of use, and other features, Sonos One comes out ahead.
Not only does Sonos One get better reviews when it comes to sound quality, consistency, and ease of use, it’s significantly less expensive than Google Home Max, making it the better overall value.
Get Your Home Theater Ready for the Holidays!
Two River Computer can set up a quality home theater for your family to enjoy using premium sound components, like Sonos One speakers.
Contact us today to learn more. Call 732-747-0020 or reach us online.
